Believe
by HecateA
Summary: Sometimes, it is truly all that you need. Oneshot.


**Enjoy the story!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything in the world of Rick Riordan. The last counselor meeting scene contains dialogue taken directly from _The Last Olympian._**

* * *

 **Believe**

* * *

 _To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow._

 _-Audrey Hepburn_

* * *

Within his first 24 hours of enrolment in pre-kindergarten, Travis had been forbidden to ever use finger paint again. Mom had told him that school would be a nice way to experiment with things he liked and meet new people, but apparently 'experimenting' came with a caliber.

In first grade, Travis was diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia. They told his mother that he'd never be able to reach standards in regular schools, that's how bad he was. Mom still told them not to give him pills, and every night they did an hour of homework. Travis read comic books avidly, he drew them himself, and he was brilliant in geography. Mom smiled and Travis heard her on the phone once, telling the special needs teacher to "suck my dick, my son is fine if you believe in him".

In third grade, Travis got in a fight with a guy named Kurt. He was defending Connor but since Kurt ended up nursing a black eye along with his large inheritance, it was quickly suggested by the school that Travis should maybe seek another education establishment before a lawsuit landed in Mom's lap.

In grade seven (he wasn't in school anymore, but _technically_ he'd be in grade 7) he'd asked a stupid question in mythology class. Everybody had rolled their eyes and clucked their tongues. Katie Gardner had turned around to explain to him that a hellhound wasn't a servant of hell, but a rogue beast. She enumerated its weak spots for Travis too, which was both kind and helpful and seriously badass from a girl that Travis had only previously seen wearing flower crowns.

And so it began.

* * *

"Hands up," Katie said.

Travis threw his hands in the air and swore internally. Hopefully Connor had gotten away already, because Travis was dead meat here.

Katie patted him down and finally pulled out wads of bubble gum from his back pocket. She arched an eyebrow before marching back to the camp store, where she'd just taken over Travis' shift two minutes ago.

"Look, please don't tell Chiron," Travis said as Katie put the gum back on the display.

"I won't," Katie said nonchantly. She always spoke that way, calm and cool and collected and patient as if she was always at peace.

"He'll honestly kill me and if he doesn't he'll tell Mr D and if I spend any more time as a shrub, I'm going to be permanently green and my mom-"

"Travis," Katie said. "I won't tell."

Travis arched an eyebrow.

So maybe he didn't know Katie that well. She was the same age as him, fine, but lots of demigods were. There had been a baby boom or something. She was a child of Demeter, but there were, like, fifteen of those. From what he knew about Rosalie Greene (the last counselor), children of Demeter were super duper strict and goody two-shoes and by the book and nursing and gentle and generally the opposite of what Travis was. He'd seen Katie control masses of tiny siblings before, so he guessed that she had to have some sense of order and honour.

"You… won't?" Travis asked.

"You stole a pack of gum from a store that also carried exclusive Myth-o-Magic figurines, magical items, daggers, ambrosia and priceless antiques," Katie said. "Clearly you weren't trying to do any damage."

"But… it was illegal. I did an illegal thing," Travis stuttered.

"My big sister ran away with Luke and made me counselor," Katie said. "Don't you think I know a thing or two about acting out and being angry and sloppy? I'm being gracious. You should probably get out of here though."

Travis nodded, shaking and left.

* * *

Katie tapped Travis' shoulder and he turned around in the middle of Operation Splash.

"Just to let you know, most of the hunters are wearing white shirts right now, and they really wouldn't appreciate getting soaked," Katie said. "Also Thalia Grace- she's a daughter of Zeus, she can't stand water. One of them, the cutie with the blue eyes, joined the hunt because her mother tried to exorcise the demigod out of her by trying to drown her in 1923. I'd strongly recommend that you do _not_ rig a water balloon avalanche to the door of their cabin even if they are fresh meat to prank, but I think I can trust you to make the right choice."

Okay. How was Travis supposed to _not_ call it off after that?

* * *

"What do you have to say for yourself?" Mr D asked Travis.

"I…"

It honestly wasn't looking too good for Travis. There wasn't much you could say when Mr D caught you red-handed stealing DVD's from his personal collection to support the movie theater you illegally ran in the forges every Saturday night.

"Oh, thank Pan I found you!" Katie said jumping out of the blue. She was holding a spatula in one hand and a bowl of pancake batter in the other. Right; every Wednesday Katie made pancakes for the demigods in the infirmary. The kitchen didn't cater to them, so usually they ate regular old hospital food.

"Did you find the movie? Oh good!" Katie beamed. "Hello Mr. D."

"Kayla," Mr. D said. "Do you know what Mr. Stoll is up to?"

"Yeah," Katie said as brightly and calmly as ever. "He's bringing movies to the infirmary so that the demigods there stay stimulated and engaged and out of your legs."

"He is," Mr. D said.

"Yes," Katie said. "You gave us permission to do this eons ago, sir. Remember?"

Travis' jaw dropped. Katie was brilliant. She was totally banking on the fact that Mr. D had little to no cares about the entire half-blood population.

"Permission to who?"

"Me, sir. Kathleen Gardner."

Now she was exploiting her good-girl status? To cover for Travis? Whoa. It was kind of… shocking. But also touching.

"Did I?" Mr. D said. "Highly possible. Nothing you brats say is worth retaining for more than five minutes. Alright then Mr. Stoll, you may go about your business."

Mr. D walked away and disappeared further in the Big House.

"Holy Styx Katie, thank you so much," Travis said.

"Hush," Katie said. "I can't afford to get in trouble right now, and neither can you! Don't you know how much those movie nights mean to people? It's the only safe date demigod couples can go on, and it brings a little joy and fun into camp."

"You really see that?" Travis said. "I mean, think that?"

"I'm not blind, Travis," Katie said. "I know that you do good things and that you're a good person, shocking enough. I believe in you. Now don't mess it up."

"I'll try not to," Travis managed to blubber.

* * *

Connor was late and the only food on the table were these Peanut MnM's that Travis would die if he ate. Travis' feet were tapping against the ground and his knees were kicking up to the table.

"Will you stop it Stoll?" Clarisse said exasperated. Nerves were high around camp since Luke left. Other demigods were periodically disappearing too- disappearing in the middle of the night with all their things and no signs of a struggle. Chris Rodriguez was the latest. It didn't help that Travis knew the way that campers were looking at Cabin 11 nowadays- not only were they sloppy and mischievous and crammed, but they were also immoral now. And in a seriously bad way, too.

Katie put a hand on Travis' wrist. It snapped him back to reality somehow and out of all his daydreams about pranks and places he wanted to travel to. It was grounding.

"Okay," Chiron said. "We'll start without Michael, shall we? He should be here soon."

He cleared his throat.

"Okay, so first order of business is to congratulate everyone for doing their chores quickly and efficiently next week. If you could remind your cabins to take out their garbage on Fridays for the harpies, that would be appreciated since it was the most often cited broken cleaning protocol over the last month. I'd also like to mention that the rule about two campers being alone together in a cabin has come up a lot over the last few months and that it _also_ applies to counselors."

Even Chiron gave Silena and Beckendorf a quick glance.

Seriously, Travis could have cited and enumerated every single reminded, debate, decision and point made during the entirety of that meeting. It was miraculous!

Katie didn't take her hand off his wrist until after the counselor meeting.

* * *

"I wasn't sneaking off, I wasn't running away, I wasn't going to join Kronos!" Travis fought as Mark, Clarisse and Sherman dragged him back to the Big House. He'd only gotten about a mile past the magical borders. "Seriously, you can let go of me, I _can_ walk."

"Desertion is a coward's mark," Sherman said.

"I wasn't deserting, I was coming back!" Travis said. "I just wanted to make a department store run."

"Argus drove us there yesterday," Clarisse said. "All the senior counselors went, including your skinny kleptomaniac butt. What the hell, Stoll?"

"It's my mom's birthday today!" Travis said. "She's out of the state, it's the right time to call now, and I didn't want to call early, it's not the same- _seriously,_ let me go!"

"Excuse me," someone said approaching them with a lantern. It was Katie Gardner, wearing an oversized t-shirt from an agricultural university in Nebraska and cotton pajama shorts dotted with flowers. "I _just_ got my last little sibling to bed after a nightmare. Would it be possible to mind the noise?"

"Sorry Katie," Clarisse said. "Just trying to get this one back to Chiron."

"Sorry Clarisse, I'm not quite sure I understand. Isn't it the harpies' job to make sure the curfew is respected?"

"This one was running away."

The shock in Katie's eyes only flashed there for a second, but Travis felt horrible.

"I was trying to go make a phone call," Travis said. "To my mother. For her birthday. I- Connor and I sneak out and call every year. Connor was supposed to sneak out half and hour after I did so that it would be more subtle."

"It _is_ his mother's birthday today," Katie said calmly. "Come on, Clarisse. You know it yourself that it's been harder than ever to go home for the holidays and send mail."

Mark and Sherman nodded too. This was their first time as year-round campers.

"Okay," Clarisse said. " _Fine._ But be careful Stoll."

The children of Ares stomped back to their positions, patrolling the borders. Travis rubbed his arm.

"I never told you anything about my mom," Travis realised.

"No, but I'm sure you love her enough to do that," Katie said. "I believe you."

* * *

"Hey, so we were going to try to turn the climbing wall's difficulty setting to a ten later today," Travis said. "Percy Jackson and I still think we can climb it if we use liquid nitrogen from the Athena cabin. He's going to get Annabeth to cough some up for us to try. Want to come watch?"

"Not particularly, no," Katie told Travis. It bummed him out at first; Katie had become a surprisingly big part of his day to day life at camp. He liked being around her, and recently he'd also started to seek her out.

"Alright. How about after supper? Do you have anything then? Because we're having a multi-cabin hot dog eating contest and the winner wins this giant chocolate bar. Seriously, Cecil's the one who found it so I don't know but he says it's the size of his arm."

"I think I'm okay," Katie said.

"After lunch did you want to go swimming?" Travis asked.

"No thank you," Katie said.

"Are you okay?" Travis asked.

"I'm taking a break," Katie said.

"Of what?" Travis asked.

"Of babysitting you," Katie said. "Of covering you left and right. Of making you do the right thing if you're not interested. I understand anger. I understand loss. I understand instincts and nature. But I'm also the kind of person who's always getting taken advantage of and I don't understand that, and I don't like it."

"I'm not… I'm not taking advantage of you," Travis said. "You're my…" _Friend, Travis. She's your friend._ "You're my friend."

"Friends don't insult friends' cabins when their friends already have enough to deal with," Katie said.

"Is this about the chocolate rabbits on your roof?"

That had been funny. Even the Ares kids, currently all pissed and grumpy about the flying chariot and the loot and shit, had gotten a kick out of it. Any amount of laughter at camp was good nowadays; the children of Hermes were working extra hard.

"Jesus Travis is there something else it could be about?" Katie asked. It was the first time he'd ever heard her raise her voice, unless she was giving Capture-the-Flag directions.

"No," Travis said, shocked.

"Good," Katie said quietly. She hugged her arms against her chest. "Do you know how upset the little kids in my cabin are? They know that war is brewing. They know that one day, all the older kids are going to leave Camp and they're going to stay here with the nymphs. We're trying to tell them how cool it will be for there to be no line for the climbing wall and everything, but they're not dumb. They have dreams. And they have nightmares. They think we're all going to die. They think they need to pray harder than usual, as if Mom's not trying hard enough for us. Do you know how upset they were when they saw the chocolate bunnies? I know to you it's nothing, but it's a dishonour to our mother. It's a change and I had two of them crying when Leif had to climb up there to get them off, because last time he climbed something it was Zeus' Fist during the Battle of the Labyrinth and he fell off and broke his leg. Did you know that the stash of chocolate bunnies you found in the Big House were supposed to be an Easter present for the little ones who are so, so scared right now? I am micromanaging so many triggers and nightmares and fears and anxieties and broken hearts and stolen innocence, Travis. I don't know who in your cabin had the idea and who did it. I don't want to know. But I think it would be best if you left me alone for a little while."

"I'm sorry Katie, I didn't know," Travis babbled.

"I know you didn't know," Katie said. "But I didn't know you for a very long time. And I still treated you right."

* * *

Chris told Travis to relax. When you got in a fight with your girlfriend, the best thing to do was to give each other room so nobody made things worst.

Travis tried explaining that Katie wasn't his girlfriend and even if she was, she wasn't even half as intense as Clarisse was, but Chris told him that his point remained.

Still, when Silena told him that her cabin was on his capture-the-flag team now because Katie had wanted to switch, he felt like maybe he'd messed up a bit worst than he'd let on to Chris.

* * *

During the first counselor meeting after Beckendorf had died, tension had been high. When Percy mentioned a spy, things got particularily bad.

"Well," Connor said uncomfortable. "We've suspected there might be a spy for years, right? Somebody kept passing information to Luke- like the location of the Golden Fleece a couple of years ago. It must be somebody who knew him well."

Travis noticed that, maybe subconsciously, he glanced at Annabeth. Even Travis thought that was a dick move.

"I mean, it could by anybody," Connor said.

"Yes," Katie said looking at Annabeth defensively and frowning at the Stoll brothers. "Like one of Luke's siblings."

Connor started arguing with her and Travis too, but Travis was mostly shocked. And heartbroken. He felt like he'd been gutted, and he was also very, very scared.

It was a decent theory. And if Katie didn't believe in him, who would?

* * *

"Gummy worm?" Travis said handing Katie a paper bag. "I know you're obsessed with them. That and skittles, so there are some of those in there too."

"I don't want you stolen candy," Katie said.

"I paid for it," Travis said. "Because I knew you wouldn't."

It was true. He wasn't sure exactly how much money the candy had been worth, but he'd emptied his pockets on the counter by the Candy Bar's cash register.

Katie hesitated before she believed him and she took the offering. Travis sat down next to her.

"I was thinking a lot today."

"In all our spare time?" Katie asked with a smile.

"Yeah," Travis said. "Well, okay. Honnestly I was thinking about dying."

"And I came to mind, of course," Katie said.

"No," Travis said, blushing. She was being defensive and sarcastic right now. He wasn't used to this from Katie, it wasn't helping. Then again, he was the reason he was in this mess. "I was just thinking about whether or not my mother would be devastated to learn that I'd died if I just did. And, well, I know she would be- but would she be surprised? I didn't think so. And Connor, it'd break Connor to teeny tiny pieces, but I know he'd be okay because he believes in the gods too and he knows how bad it can be. And then I thought about you."

"About me?"

"Yeah," Travis said. "And what you'd think if I kicked the bucket in the middle of Manhattan."

"I would have been upset," Katie said. "Very upset. It would have been sad and I wouldn't have liked it one bit. Is that what came to mind?"

"Kind of," Travis said. "I thought of you and I reaslied that it was a stupid checklist to be making in the middle of a fight. The thing is, you've always believed in me and so I should suck it up and do the same. Stop thinking about what would happen if I died... See, I'm not the kind of person that people believed in. Teachers thought I was hopeless. My mom got used to lying and sneaking around pretty quick. When I walk into a store even when I have money in my pockets and I'm totally going to pay, store owners follow me around. Chiron is skeptical whenever it's me against another person. Some of that is my fault, but some of it is just how I am. And I guess that it rubs off, when nobody believes in you. I guess it means I really need you around. I mean, I know I'm not perfect and even when we were hanging out I wasn't anywhere close. But you helped me out, you know. On that... one... particular... front."

Katie put the candy down and took Travis' hand. "I don't believe in you because I want you to be perfect. I believe in you because you're good."

"Good enough?" Travis asked.

"No," Katie said. "Just good. So yes, you'll stay alive during this war. And tomorrow -because I believe in tomorrow- you'll still be here. And if you are and the war is done, we can talk again about all of this."

"About tomorrow," Travis grinned a goofy grin.

"Yes, tomorrow," Katie said. "Make sure to survive until then, okay?"

"Can't wait," Travis smiled.


End file.
